Method of manufacturing sanitary drinking-cups



B..B. AVERY AND A. NELSON.

' METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SANITARY mzmxms curs. APPLICATION FILED Arm-1. 191a.

1,341,832. PatentedJuneLl920.

FIN

I I l I I 4| r7 3 i i I i 4 l 1 I I i 96- z INVENTOM:

i zzfiyg ATTORNEY UNETED STATES career? caries.

BENJAMIN B. AVERY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., AND ALEXANDER- NE-LSON, OF NEWARK,

NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNO-RS, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO GERMPROOF CUP CORPO- RATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK. I

Specification of Letters Eatent.

Patented June a, teen.

Application filed April 4., 1918. Serial No. 226,593.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, BENJAMIN B. AVERY and ALEXANDER NELSON, citizens of the United States, residing at New York city, county and State of New York, and Newark, Essex county, and State of New Jersey, respectively, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Manufacturing Sanitary Drinking- Cups, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in the method of manufacturing sanitary drinking cups, the object of the invention being to provide an improved method of making sanitary drinking cups from paper or similar thin material with the folded side edges thereof locked against separation in an efficient manner, and which cups may be produced at such low cost as to warrant throwing away the cup after use thereof.

In practice a large number of cups may be produced successively from a long web of paper or other thin material such for instance as paraiiin paper when preferred, and in carrying out this method each blank severed from the web is first folded transversely of its length, the blank usually being of greater length than width, then the side edges of the so folded blank are folded a plurality of times toward the center and pressed and crimped, and then an extension or flap of the so folded blank is turned over at the upper end so as to lock the so folded edges, this extension or flap also producing as it were a rounded edge for the lips of the user.

The cup may be by hand 'or by different forms of machinery but is preferably made by a simple apparatus readily used with a coin vending machine of small size, which may be located in public or semi-public places or wherever it is desired to furnish cups for temporary use.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification Figure 1 illustrates a plan view of a portion of a severed web illustrating the cup blank without the locking flap; Fig. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a cup made from this blank; Fig. 3 is a plan vidw of a portion of a severed web illustrating a cup blank -mechanism. folded transversely of its length and its side made in various ways as for carrying out method.

having the locking flap; Fig. 4- illustrates a perspective view of a cup made from the blank shown in Fig. 3; Figs 5 and 6 illustrate views of the former which may be used for carrying out this improved method; Fig. 7 illustrates one form of apparatus which may be used for carrying out this improved method, the former shown in Figs. 5 and 6 being illustrated in position; and Fig. 8 is a side view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 7 and also illustrates the folding of the locking flap.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

In carrying out this improved method the several cup blanks are successively severed from a web, when a web is used, which is desirable, as this obviates the handling of the cup blanks, the severing action taking place as the web is fed to the cup forming The severed cup blank is then edges are then folded upon itself and to ward the center thereof and preferably both at the same side of the cup although this is not absolutely necessary. Theso folded edges are then folded upon themselves again. Thus the cup blank at each side thereof is folded a plurality of times upon itself lengthwise of the blank where the cup is of greater length than width. The next step in the method of manufacturing the cup is to fold over the locking flap upon the so-folded edges thereby locking the folded edges against separation which is a very desirable feature since otherwise where the cup has its side edges only folded and unlocked the apart when the cup is filled with water.

In carrying out the foregoing steps of this improved method of producing drinking cups various forms of apparatus may be used but we have shown herein a very simple form of apparatus which can be conveniently used in a coin-vending machine the successive steps of the In using this apparatus the blank 2 having been severed from the web 1 at a suitable point to provide the proper length of cup blank a flap 4 is fed to the folding apparatus as illustrated in Fig. 8 whereupon a movable folding blade 14 folds the cup folded edges are likely to pull I blank transversely of its length as at 3 and pushes it into position to be recelved by a pair of plates 10 and 12' suitably supported in position and provided with cooperating folding portions 10 and 12 and 11 and 13. The former plates 10' and 12 are also provided with openings 9 for the reception of suitable feed rolls 17 and 19 and with suitable spaces 18 for the reception ofcrimping rolls 18. The folded cup blank is then 1 passed through the former by two pairs of while in Fig. 4 is illustrated the cup profeed rolls 1? andduring its passage through the former the side edges thereof are first folded upon the blank toward the center thereof and preferably at the same side of the blank by the folding portions 10 and 12 of the former whereupon the so folded edges as they pass beneath the crimping rollers 18 are compressed and crimped. The blank is then fed through the former by the feed rollers 19 and as it passes through the lower end of the former its previously folded side I edges are again folded thus forming a plurality of folds along each side edge of the blank. The blank then passes to the rollers 20 where the folded. edges are again crimped and pressed; After the blank has been carried through the rollers 20 the flap 4; is brought into position beneath the rollers 20 whereupon a folding blade 15 moving transversely of the direction the blank has been fed through the rollers engages the flap along the line 5, Fig. 3, and folds the same upon one side of the cup, this flap thus looking the folded side edges. When the flap 4 is folded by the folding blade 15 it is pushed thereby between one of the rollers 20 and a companion roller 21 thereby pressing the flap upon the cup blank and forming the completed cup.

In Fig. 2 is illustratcd'a cup provided with a plurality of side folds 6, 7 and 8 vided with the same folds 6, 7 and 8 and the folded locking flap 4.

r By this improved method of forming a cup they may be made without the handling of the cups at any time so that they are sanitary in every respect and when the cups are made of paraflin paper the several pressure rollers will give a coalescence or adhesion of the pressed surfaces and thus seal the so folded portions. In 'the present improvement, however, by means of the locking flap 4 the use of paraffin paper may be dispensed with since this locking flap efficiently locks the folded side edges against separation' The several folding rolls 18 and 20 maybe formed with knurled or roughened surfaces to properly crimp or otherwise compress the folded side edges of the blank.

This improved cup is illustrated and described in certain of the figures of the contemporaneously pending application of- Benjamin B. livery, Serial No. 18l,5(33, filed August 6, 1917.

In the present improvement when the side edges of the cup are folded in the manner shown, these same folds extend across the flap 4 so that when the flap is bent down the folded portions of the flap are bent upon the folded portions of the side edges of the cup thereby materially assisting in preventing the folded side edges'of the cup from becoming separated. a

We claim as our invention: 1. The method of producing a sanitary drinking cup, which consists in first folding a cup blank transversely of its length to provide two flat sides, one longer than the other thereby to provide a flap, then folding each sideedge thereof a plurality of times, and then folding the flap over such side edges.

2. The method of producing sanitary drinking cups. which consists in first folding a blank transversely of itself thereby to form a pair of fiat sides with one of said sides having a flap extending beyond the other at the open end of the cup, then folding the blank and the flap along their side ing and infolding the blank and the flap along their 'sideedges thereby to lock the side edges of the cup, and then folding the flap with its folded and infolded side edges upon the folded and infolded edges of the sides of the cup thereby to further lock the side edges of the cup.

4. The method of producing sanitary drinking cups, which consists in first folding a blank in the form of a sheet intermediately upon itself thereby to form a pair of fiat sides with one of said sides of greater length than the other thereby to form a flap at the open end of the cup, then folding the blank and the flap simultaneously along their side edges a plurality of times thereby to lock the side edges of the cup, and then folding the flap with its so folded side edges outwardly upon the'folded side edges of the 'cup thereby to further lock the. side edges of the cup.

5. The method of producing sanitary drinking cups, which consists in feeding a web of paper and severing therefrom successively cup blanks, then folding each cup blank transversely thereby to form a pair of flat sides with one side longer than the other thereby to form a flap at the open end of the thereby to cup andfolding the so folded blank and the flap along their side edges a plurality of times thereby to lock the side edges of the cup, and then feeding the cup blank in a different direction and during such latter feeding folding the flap with its folded side edges upon the folded edges of the sides of the cup thereby to further lock the sides of the cup.

6. The method of producing sanitary drinking cups, which consists in feeding a web of paper and severing therefrom successively cup blanks, then folding each cup blank transversely thereby to form a pair of fiat sides with one side longer than the other form a flap at the open end of the cup and folding the so folded blank and the flap along their side edges a plurality of times thereby to lock the side edges of the cup, and then feeding the cup blank in a direction transverse to its prior feeding movement and during such latter feeding folding the flap with itsfolded side edges upon the folded edges of the sides of the cup thereby to further lock the sides of the cup.

7 The method of producing sanitary drinking cups which consists in feeding a web of paper in one direction and severing therefrom successively cup blanks, then folding each cup blank transversely and feeding it in a different direction and during such feedin movement folding the side edges thereo a plurality of times thereby to fold and in-fold the side edges and compress the same, portions of greater length than the other, and then folding the excessive length of side portion during the feeding of the cup blank in a different direction thereby to form a locking flap for the folded side edges.

- portions the cup blank having one of its side 8. The method of producing sanitary drinking cups which consists in feeding a web of paper in one'direction and severing therefrom successively cup blanks, then folding each cup blank transversely and feeding it in a different direction and during such feedin movement folding the side edges thereo a plurality of times thereby to fold and in-fold the side edges and compress the same,,the cup blank having one of its side portions of greater length than the other, and then folding the excessive length of side portion during the feeding of the cup blank in a difierent direction thereby to form a locking flap for the folded side edges, the final feeding of the cup blank being in a direction opposite to the first feeding thereof.

9. The method of producing sanitarydrinking cups which consists in feeding a web of paper in one direction and severing therefrom successively cup blanks, then folding each cup blank transversely and feeding it in a different direction and during such feeding movement folding the side edges thereof a plurality of times thereby to fold and in-fold the side edges and compress the same, the cup blank having one of its side of greater length than the other, and then folding the excessive length of side portion during the feeding of the cup blank in a different direction thereby to form a locking flap for the folded side edges, the final feeding of the cup blank being in a direction opposite to the first feeding thereof and transverse to the direction of the intermediate feeding thereof.

Signed at New York city, New York this 26th day of March 1918.

BENJAMIN B. AVERY. ALEXANDER NELSON. 

